There is no greater institution in the world in which so many have so much experience, and yet we know so little about, as marriage.

It’s something that millions of people do, and yet there is virtually no information to draw from when making one’s own decision about either getting married or determining how happy they are in that marriage.

We often read about the “top 1%” in the news, at it relates to wealth. There are plenty of lists of who’s in the top 1%, you read about what percentage of taxes get paid by the top 1%, and there’s even a political movement aimed at taxing the hell out of them.

But I wonder who’s in the top 1% of marriages. Wouldn’t it be interesting to determine what the top 1% of the most successful, or happiest, marriages are? It would be great to learn from those people.

Instead, marriage is one of the most mysterious aspects of life.

While many are in one, it’s impossible to quantify happiness. It’s also impossible to relate one’s happiness to another’s.

Many married couples wonder what’s normal. Are they in a “normal marriage?” Most people know not every day of a marriage is happy. It’s to be expected. But how happy should one be in a successful marriage? How unhappy should one be in an unsuccessful marriage before they move on?

In short, what is “normal” for marital bliss?

There are few secrets so globally guarded as how happy a married person truly is with their partner. As such, we’ll probably never know how much of a successful marriage is based on natural, emotional love, and how much credit should be given to practical, logical work and rationalization.

But the answer is probably this: it’s all relative…